The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), Illinois Terrorism Task Force received an announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of a grant opportunity that eligible State, local, or tribal government's principal EOCs can apply for as part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Emergency Operations Center Grant Program (EOC). Fully capable emergency operations facilities at the State and local levels are an essential element of a comprehensive national emergency management system and are necessary to ensure continuity of operations and continuity of government in major disasters or emergencies caused by any hazard.

The FY 2009 EOC Grant Program is intended to improve emergency management and preparedness capabilities by supporting flexible, sustainable, secure, and interoperable EOCs with a focus on addressing identified deficiencies and needs. The EOC Grant Program is authorized by section 614 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 6196c) as amended by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-53). Funds for the FY 2009 EOC Grant Program are appropriated under the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (Public Law 110-329).

Available Funding
The FY 2009 EOC Grant Program will provide $34,002,500 for construction or renovation of a State, local, or tribal government's principal EOC. Of this amount, $21,645,000 in non-competitive funding has been appropriated for designated local EOC projects throughout the Nation. The remaining $12,357,500 shall be allocated competitively to eligible State, local, or tribal government's principal EOCs. Eligible EOCs requesting competitive funding may request up to $1,000,000 for construction projects or up to $250,000 for renovation projects through the FY 2009 EOC Grant Program. Under the FY 2009 EOC Grant Program, competitive and non-competitive EOCs may propose only one construction or renovation Investment Justification.

Construction and Renovation
"Construction," as defined in this program, refers to building a new facility or any changes to the footprint of an existing facility, while "renovation" refers to internal improvements to an existing facility. Note: Construction or renovation projects requested and funded under the EOC Grant Program must directly support EOC mission goals and cannot supplant projects/activities funded under the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) or EMPG.

Award Period of Performance
The period of performance of this grant is 36 months. Extensions to the period of performance will be considered only through formal requests to FEMA with specific and compelling justifications why an extension is required.

NIMS Compliance
To be eligible to receive FY 2009 EOC Grant Program funding, applicants must meet NIMS compliance requirements. The NIMSCAST will be the required means to report FY 2008 NIMS compliance for FY 2009 preparedness award eligibility. For FY 2009 there are no new NIMS compliance objectives.

Match Requirement
The FY 2009 EOC Grant Program has a 75 percent Federal and 25 percent grantee cost share cash- or in-kind match requirement. Unless otherwise authorized by law, Federal funds cannot be matched with other Federal funds.

Investment Justification
As part of the FY 2009 EOC Grant Program application process, both competitive and non competitive applicants must develop a formal Investment Justification that addresses the construction or renovation Investment proposed for funding and demonstrate how the selected review criteria and proposed EOC project information will improve emergency management and preparedness capabilities. Failure to address the data elements in the prescribed format, including the strict formatting guidelines, will result in the rejection of the Investment Justification from review consideration. The Investment Justification must: 1) Be created and submitted in Microsoft Word (*.doc) or text (*.text); 2) Not exceed five (5) single-spaced pages, in 12 point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1" margins. The eligible EOC is required to adhere to and include the following section headings, page restrictions, character limitations and scoring criteria within the Investment Justification. Separate attachments will neither be accepted, nor reviewed. Additionally, scanned or imaged applications will not be accepted. Applications must use the FY 2009 EOC: "FY 2009 EOC <State Abbreviation> - <EOC Name>."

Application Review
The SAA, in coordination with the State Emergency Management Agency, will review all Investment Justifications to score and prioritize the competitive projects and review the non-competitive projects.

FEMA recognizes that each State, local, and tribal jurisdiction has unique emergency management needs. Construction and renovation projects will be reviewed based on how well they address the following criteria:

• State-identified priorities
• Quality of justification
• Preexisting planning

FEMA will evaluate and act on applications in a timeframe consistent with the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (Public Law 110-329).

Eligible applicants should download the Program Guidance and Application Kit for more information. Applicants should also download the Investment Justification template instructions and application. The Investment Justifications must be sent electronically to the SAA no later than 5:00 PM ST, February 6, 2009 to ensure adequate time for a State review of EOC applications.